Organization and responsibilities

Representatives of the Fisheries administration of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland constitute the Lake Constance International Fishery Commission (IBKF). In particular, the commission is responsible for establishing common regulations for the recreational and professional fishery. A top priority is maintaining a sustainable fishery as well as natural species diversity. Since 1910, every contracting state records common fishery statistics as a basis for decisions on fishery regulations. In addition, the economically most important fish species such as whitefish and perch are monitored with monthly sampling to determine biometric data, age and maturity status, and degree of parasitism. Investigations of other species (ex. Three-spined stickleback and lake trout) are occasionally carried out as well. The control and surveillance of fishermen by official fishery officers is an important part of the fishery management. The expert commission of the IBKF, therefore, consists of the experts and the national fishery officers of each country. The current fishery regulations of Lake Constance are based on one of the oldest international agreements on inland fishery still valid, dating back to the Agreement of Bregenz on July 5th, 1893, (Bregenzer Uebereinkunft 1893).